Dublin’s coffee scene has grown up fast, with local roasters, skilled baristas and cafés worth crossing town for. These are 10 of the best cafés in Dublin for a good cup and a break between sights, from Grand Canal Dock to Smithfield and the Liberties.
Worth knowing before you go
- Coffeeangel started on a coffee cart in Howth in 2004 (source), and 3fe began in 2009 in the lobby of a nightclub on Middle Abbey Street (source). Both helped start the city’s specialty coffee scene.
- Cloud Picker, founded in 2013, describes itself as Dublin’s first micro-roastery. (source)
- The building 3fe started in is now Wigwam, and Vice Coffee Inc has run the coffee bar there since 2013. (source)
How we picked
We chose independent cafés that Irish press and coffee guides rate for their coffee and food, with a spread across the city centre. Every café on the list was trading when we last checked.
Cafés in Dublin: the quick list
- 3fe Grand Canal Street (Grand Canal Dock, Dublin 2): the flagship of one of Dublin’s first specialty roasters
- Kaph (Drury Street, Dublin 2): espresso over two floors in the Creative Quarter
- Coffeeangel South Anne Street (Grafton Street area, Dublin 2): specialty coffee steps from Grafton Street
- Cloud Picker Café (Pearse Street, Dublin 2): Dublin’s original micro-roastery
- Proper Order Coffee Co (Smithfield, Dublin 7): filter coffee and the Cardi B cardamom bun
- Vice Coffee Inc (Abbey Street, Dublin 1): Irish coffees and guest roasters
- Copper + Straw (Arran Quay, Smithfield, and Aston Quay, Temple Bar): rotating guest roasters on the quays
- Legit Coffee Co (Meath Street, The Liberties, Dublin 8): French pastries and Brazilian coffee
- Bewley’s Grafton Street (Grafton Street, Dublin 2): Harry Clarke windows and a café open since 1927
- Container Coffee (Thomas Street, The Liberties, Dublin 8): coffee from a shipping container
1. 3fe Grand Canal Street
Colin Harmon started 3fe in 2009 and opened the Grand Canal Street café in 2011. It is still the flagship, with a breakfast and brunch menu, espresso and filter made from beans roasted at 3fe’s own roastery in Glasnevin, and a few outdoor seats for a dry morning.
- Known for: The flagship of one of Dublin’s first specialty roasters
- Where: 32-34 Grand Canal Street Lower, Grand Canal Dock, Dublin 2, D02 TD58
- Good to know: 3fe beans, brewing kit and merchandise are on sale in the café, so it’s a good spot to pick up coffee to bring home.
- Website: 3fe.com
2. Kaph
Kaph is a specialty coffee shop on Drury Street in the Creative Quarter, spread over two floors. The baristas pull a house blend that regulars rate among the best coffee in the city centre, and the café makes a point of being a place for conversation as much as caffeine.
- Known for: Espresso over two floors in the Creative Quarter
- Where: 31 Drury Street, Dublin 2
- Good to know: Plenty of people grab a takeaway, but there’s seating upstairs if you want to linger. It gets busy at weekends.
- Website: kaph.ie
3. Coffeeangel South Anne Street
Coffeeangel opened on South Anne Street in 2011 as a three-month pop-up and never left. It sits between Grafton Street and Dawson Street in the middle of the shopping district, with a small amount of seating, retail beans and brewing gear. All Coffeeangel coffee is roasted for it each week by Bailies in Belfast.
- Known for: Specialty coffee steps from Grafton Street
- Where: 16 South Anne Street, Dublin 2, D02 VF29
- Good to know: Seating is limited, so treat it as a quick stop or take your coffee for a walk to St Stephen’s Green.
- Website: coffeeangel.com
4. Cloud Picker Café
Frank Kavanagh and Peter Sztal founded Cloud Picker in 2013 and roast to order in Crumlin. Their café is in the old projector room of the former Palace Cinema on Pearse Street: a long, narrow space with a slow bar for hand-brewed filter at the back and a wall of beans and brewing gear to browse.
- Known for: Dublin’s original micro-roastery
- Where: The Projector Room, 42 Pearse Street, Dublin 2, D02 KA44
- Good to know: Cloud Picker also runs hands-on Roast Your Own sessions, where you roast a batch of beans to take home.
- Website: cloudpickercoffee.ie
5. Proper Order Coffee Co
Former Irish Barista Champion Niall Wynn and Ali Wynn opened Proper Order in Smithfield in 2016. The coffee is serious, with rotating single origins on espresso and filter, and the pastries come from their sister bakery No Messin’, including the sticky ‘Cardi B’ cardamom bun.
- Known for: Filter coffee and the Cardi B cardamom bun
- Where: Unit 1, The Distillery Building, Smithfield, Dublin 7, D07 WDX9
- Good to know: Go early if you want a Cardi B bun, especially at weekends, as they often sell out by lunchtime.
- Website: properordercoffeeco.com
6. Vice Coffee Inc
Vice is a multi-roaster coffee bar inside Wigwam, near O’Connell Street, and has been pouring since 2013. The beans rotate between roasters from Ireland and abroad, such as Square Mile, Bailies, Calendar and Coffee Collective, so there’s usually something new to try. It’s also the place for an Irish coffee, with three versions on the menu.
- Known for: Irish coffees and guest roasters
- Where: Inside Wigwam, 54 Middle Abbey Street, Dublin 1, D01 E2X4
- Good to know: Vice doesn’t open early, so plan it for late morning or the afternoon rather than your first coffee of the day.
- Website: vicecoffeeinc.com
7. Copper + Straw
Copper + Straw has two cafés on the quays, one in Smithfield and one in Temple Bar. Bailies in Belfast is the house roaster, and a different guest roaster arrives every month, with names like La Cabra and The Barn among the many that have passed through. The food is made in the company’s own kitchen, and the summer menu adds a run of iced drinks.
- Known for: Rotating guest roasters on the quays
- Where: 1 Arran Quay, Smithfield, Dublin 7, D07 YF74; also 14-18 Aston Quay, Temple Bar, Dublin 2, D02 FV38
- Good to know: The Aston Quay café is a few steps from O’Connell Bridge and has a window counter looking out over the street.
- Website: copperandstraw.ie
8. Legit Coffee Co
Damien and Jamaycon opened Legit on Meath Street in 2016, and their French and Brazilian backgrounds shape the counter: French pastries that make choosing hard, and coffee from Brazil for espresso and milk drinks. There’s a brunch and lunch menu too, from tuna melts to French toast.
- Known for: French pastries and Brazilian coffee
- Where: 1 Meath Mart, Meath Street, Dublin 8, D08 XHT7
- Good to know: Meath Street is one of the Liberties’ old market streets, so pair your coffee with a wander through the area.
- Website: legitcoffeeco.com
9. Bewley’s Grafton Street
Bewley’s has served coffee on Grafton Street since 1927. It is a grand café with full table service rather than a third-wave coffee bar, but a list of Dublin cafés feels incomplete without it. The centrepiece is the set of six Harry Clarke stained-glass windows, finished shortly before his death in 1931, and Bewley’s still roasts coffee in the building.
- Known for: Harry Clarke windows and a café open since 1927
- Where: 78-79 Grafton Street, Dublin 2, D02 K033
- Good to know: You can book a table online, which helps on busy shopping days.
- Website: bewleysgraftonstreet.com
10. Container Coffee
Former TV producer Gordon Hickey opened Container Coffee in 2017 in recycled shipping containers on the Digital Hub campus, in view of the old St Patrick’s Tower windmill. The coffee has come from Cloud Picker since the start, and there’s a yard of outdoor seating for a sunny day.
- Known for: Coffee from a shipping container
- Where: 161 Thomas Street, Dublin 8
- Good to know: It’s open seven days and makes a handy stop on the way to the Guinness Storehouse or the Roe & Co Distillery.
- Website: containercoffee.com
More good coffee in Dublin
Three more cafés we like on either side of the river, including one of the few places in the city centre where you can still get a good coffee late in the evening.
Mind the Step (Strand Street Great, Dublin 1)
Mind the Step is a minute from the Ha’penny Bridge, just off the Millennium Walkway. Marta and Seán met through dancing, and they run the café on the ground floor with two dance studios above and below it. The coffee is from 3fe, with a few single origins brewed on V60, and pastries come from local bakers. It stays open late most nights, so you can go for a coffee after dinner, and there’s a no-laptop rule in the evening.
Website: mindthestep.ie
The Fumbally (Fumbally Lane, Dublin 8)
The Fumbally is a café, bakery and shop on a lane in Dublin 8, a short walk from St Patrick’s Cathedral. They bake their own sourdough and make ferments in house, and the menu has plenty for vegetarians and vegans. The Fumbally Stables next door runs markets, workshops and a Friday night dinner, so it’s worth checking what’s on if you’re coming over.
Website: thefumbally.ie
Laine, My Love (Talbot Street, Dublin 1)
Laine, My Love is a small café in a railway arch on Talbot Street, around the corner from Busáras and Connolly Station, which makes it handy before a train or bus out of Dublin. It comes from the team behind Roasted Brown and uses their coffee. Breakfast and lunch are simple: bagels, toasties and big sandwiches that local office workers queue for.
Plan the rest of your day
Take a coffee to go and walk it off. Kaph, Coffeeangel and Bewley’s are a few minutes from St Stephen’s Green, Proper Order and Copper + Straw sit by the Liffey, and Legit and Container Coffee are close to the Guinness Storehouse in the Liberties.
- Book a Dublin food tour
- Guinness Storehouse tickets and tips
- Our Smithfield neighbourhood guide
- Rainy day in Dublin: indoor things to do
Opening hours and menus change, so check each café’s own website before you go. Information checked November 2026.
